{"id":319136,"date":"2022-10-10T17:44:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T20:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=319136"},"modified":"2022-10-10T17:44:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T20:44:05","slug":"my-place-in-arab-culture-comes-from-affection-yunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/my-place-in-arab-culture-comes-from-affection-yunes\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018My place in the Arab culture comes from affection\u2019: Yunes"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Simone Yunes<\/strong> was raised by her paternal grandparents Wady Yunes and Henry Yunes, who actually liked to be called Dona Ida. The assistant manager of CineSesc<\/strong> was one of the founders of the Arab World Film Festival and inherited her Lebanese origins and influences from her grandparents. \u201cMy grandfather came from Lebanon<\/strong> when he was 16, and my grandmother\u2019s family was also from Lebanon. I was mostly raised by them. I had a very strong connection with my grandfather, so much that I didn\u2019t want to change my last name when I got married. And I managed to pass the last name to my children, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The contact made her develop a taste for the Lebanese cuisine. \u201cMy favorite foods are Arab. I\u2019d eat grape leaves every day if I could. And I cook Arab <\/strong>foods often. As for my father, he really loved rice and beans,\u201d she pointed out, regretting that she didn\u2019t learn the language. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame, but he didn\u2019t have the habit [to speak Arabic] at home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

From her family, she also got her perception of a welcoming ancestry. \u201cMy grandfather in particular was a very sweet person. My father has always been an extremely feminist man, and he even gave me my name because of Simone de Beauvoir<\/strong>. I came from a family that was very caring and concerned about culture. My place in the Arab culture comes from this affection and the respect for women. I\u2019d like that every time people thing about the Arabs, it\u2019s from that place,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n

The cinema<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yunes holds a degree in Public Relations and a major in Art History. Early in her career, she taught at children\u2019s schools, but in 1996 she started working at the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc). \u201cI worked for four years at Sesc Pompeia, then I came here [CineSesc] in 2000 and ended up working directly with cinema,\u201d she revealed.<\/p>\n

At CineSesc, Yune received Soraya Smaili<\/strong> for a meeting that would give rise to the Arab World Film Festival<\/strong>. \u201cAt first, there was no curator, so we traveled around and focused on watching Arab movies and researching, and I was closely involved in the curatorship for years. Then came Geraldo [Campos], who\u2019s a very interesting curator, and now Arthur Jafet. I remember [the story of the event] very fondly as it started without support, on our willpower alone,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n

This year, the festival reached its 17th<\/sup> edition and resumed in-person screenings that had been discontinued at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. During the pandemic, the event took place only online. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to think about the place of the Arab cinema as it\u2019s a very ancient, relevant culture. It\u2019s very important to think on women and bring female filmmakers. The festival started with two women. Here lies the importance of thinking this plurality and even the issue of Palestine, which is very dear to us,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n

Here’s more on this:<\/em><\/p>\n